Cabinet Office: DEL

Baroness Vadera: My right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Liam Byrne) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of the spring supplementary estimate2008-09, the Cabinet Office total Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be increased by £50,980,000 from £357,896,000 to £408,876,000.
	
		
			 £'000 Winter Supplementary Estimate DEL   Changes   Spring Supplementary Estimate New DEL   
			  Voted Non Voted Total Voted Non Voted Total Voted Non Voted Total 
			 Resource DEL 304,681 37,476 342,157 +48,725 -50 +48,675 353,406 37,426 390,832 
			 Of which:  
			 Administration Budget 203,250 - 203,250 -27,238 - -27,238 176,012 - 176,012 
			 Near cash in RDEL 260,874 38,591 299,465 +46,725 -35 +46,690 307,599 38,556 346,155 
			 Capital DEL** 48,541 1,050 49,591 +4,255 +50 +4,305 52,796 1,100 53,896 
			 Depreciation* -33,852 - -33,852 -2,000 - -2,000 -35,852 - -35,852 
			 Total DEL 319,370 38,526 357,896 +50,980 - +50,980 370,350 38,526 408,876 
		
	
	* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	** Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in Estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets.
	Summary of Changes in DEL
	The change in the resource element of DEL, an increase of £48.675 million, comprises £37.195 million agreed claims on the Reserve, a £0.165 million take up of End Year Flexibility, £12.312 million transfers of budgetary cover from/to other government departments and £0.997 million transfers to Capital DEL.
	The change in the capital element of DEL, an increase of £4.305 million, comprises a £3.308 million take up of End Year Flexibility and £0.997 million transfers from Resource DEL.
	Changes in Resource DEL (RDEL)
	The changes which result in a net increase in Resource DEL (RDEL) of £48,675,000 are as follows:
	Agreed Claims on the Reserve
	A drawdown from the Reserve for v Matched Funding for the Office of the Third Sector to cover grant expenditure increases Resource DEL and Net Cash Requirement by £13,000,000.
	A drawdown from the Reserve for the Invest to Save Budget (ISB) for the Office of the Third Sector to cover grant expenditure increases Resource DEL and Net Cash Requirement by £916,000.
	A drawdown on the Reserve for the Grassroots Grant programme increases Resource DEL and Net Cash Requirement by £23,279,000.
	End Year Flexibility
	A take up of End Year Flexibility (EYF) for the Invest to Save Budget (ISB) for the Office of the Third Sector increases Resource DEL and Net Cash Requirement by £165,000.
	Budget cover transfers outwards
	Transfers to other Government Departments to cover the costs of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel reduces Resource DEL and Net Cash Requirement by £1,728,000.
	Budget cover transfers inwards
	A transfer from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to cover the costs of i Monitoring Security Co-ordination Centre (iMSCC) increases Resource DEL and Net Cash Requirement by £40,000.
	A transfer from the Security and Intelligence Agencies to cover the costs of the SCOPE programme increases Non Cash Resource DEL by £14,000,000.
	Transfers from Voted Resource to Capital DEL
	A transfer from Voted Resource DEL to Capital DEL increases the Capital Budget by £947,000 and consists of the following: a £60,000 transfer from the House of Lords Appointments Commission Resource DEL to cover the costs of redeveloping the appointments database, a £750,000 transfer from the core Cabinet Office Resource DEL to enhance the computer system that supports the Civil Service Pensions and a £137,000 transfer from the core Cabinet Office Resource DEL to cover expenditure on projects implementing security measures.
	Transfer from Non-Voted Resource to Capital DEL
	The Commission for the Compact Limited, an executive NDPB, has arranged to transfer £50,000 of its Non-Voted Resource DEL to Capital DEL to cover expenditure on office equipment.
	Changes in Capital DEL (CDEL)
	The changes which result in a net increase in Capital DEL (CDEL) of £4,305,000 are as follows:
	End Year Flexibility
	A take up of End Year Flexibility for the Government Security Zone to cover accounting adjustments on capital grants increases Capital DEL by £3,308,000; there is no corresponding increase in Net Cash Requirement.
	Transfers from Voted and Non-Voted Resource to Capital DEL
	A transfer from Voted and Non-Voted Resource DEL to Capital DEL increases the Capital Budget by £997,000 as previously described in the section Changes in Resource DEL.

Charles Darwin

Lord Davies of Oldham: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Andy Burnham) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement:
	Today is Charles Darwin's 200thBirthday and the beginning of a year-long programme of events to celebrate his life and work which culminates on 24 November, the 150th Anniversary of the publication of his seminal book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
	Charles Darwin is one of the most influential Britons of all time and perhaps the most important natural historian of all. His theory that all species of life have evolved over time from one or a few common ancestors through the process of natural selection has framed and shaped current scientific thinking and dramatically influenced the society we live in today. At a time of unprecedented environmental change, it continues to inform our understanding of the future challenges for humans and the natural world.
	Darwin's importance to the world is such that Darwin's home and workplace, Darwin's Landscape Laboratory, has been chosen as the UK's 2009 nomination to become a World Heritage Site.
	A wide range of organisations across England, Wales and Scotland have collaborated under the brand name Darwin200, to produce a national programme of events to celebrate the legacy and enduring relevance of Charles Darwin's work. The partnership includes a number of organisations from across the arts, education, heritage, local government, libraries, media, museums, science, and tourism sectors such as the Natural History Museum, the BBC, the British Council, Research Councils UK, the University of Cambridge, and The Royal Society.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have been working together to support the Darwin celebrations.
	There will be Darwin-related events in all parts of the country. The involvement of Members from all sides of the House will help to raise the profile of Darwin200 and give added momentum to the work that so many of our national and regional organisations are involved in.
	More about events celebrating Darwin's life and work can be found at www.Darwin200.org

Department for Children Schools and Families: DEL

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (Ed Balls) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for Children, Schools and Families Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be increased by £41,975,000 from £52,722,327,000 to £52,764,302,000; the administration cost budget will be increased by £2,033,000 from £187,536,000 to £189,569,000. The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) which has a separate Estimate and DEL, will be increased by £32,200,000 from £181,216,000 to £213,416,000 the administration cost budget will remain as £28,721,000.
	Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:
	
		
			 DCFS Resources Capital *** 
			  Change New DEL Of which:  Change New DEL Of which:  
			Voted Non-voted   Voted Non- voted 
			  £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 
			 RfR 1 -1,505 45,418,319 44,172,607 1,245,712 -127,577 5,584,989 4,527,318 1,057,671 
			 RfR 2 44,943 1,339,855 1,317,839 22,016 126,114 421,139 421,139 0 
			 DCSF Total 43,438 46,758,174 45,490,446 1,267,728 -1,463 6,006,128 4,948,457 1,057,671 
			 Ofsted 32,200 212,435 212,435 0 0 981 981 0 
			 Sub Total 75,638 46,970,609 45,702,881 1,267,728 -1,463 6,007,109 4,949,438 1,057,671 
			 **Of which Admin Budget 2,033 218,290 218,290 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Near-cash in RDEL 75,638 46,816,859 45,702,344 1,304,515 0 0 0 0 
			 Depreciation* 1,780 -13,170 -7,932 -3,238 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 75,638 46,970,609 45,702,881 1,267,728 -1,463 6,007,109 4,949,438 1,057,671 
		
	
	* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL in the table above, since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	** The total of 'Administration budget' and 'Near-cash in resource DEL' figures may well be greater than total resource DEL, due to the definitions overlapping.
	*** Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in Estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets.
	Within the Administration Cost budget changes, the impact is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 DfES Original Change Revised 
			  £'000 £'000 £'000 
			 DfES (RfR1) 187,536 2,033 189,569 
			 OFSTED 28,721 0 28,721 
			 Total 216,257 2,033 218,290 
		
	
	Department for Children, Schools and Families
	Resource DEL
	The increase in the resource element of the DEL of £43,438,000 arises from an increase in the voted element of the resource DEL of £22,855,000 and an increase of £20,583,000 in the non-voted element of resource DEL mainly in the department's non-departmental public bodies.
	Voted Resource DEL
	The £22,855,000 increase in the voted element of the resource DEL arises from:
	RFR1
	a take up of end year flexibility of £1,950,000 for administration costs;a movement of £14,000,000 from non-voted young peoples provision to voted young people's provision;a movement of £2,988,000 from non-voted provision to support children and families;a movement of £8,600,000 from non-voted unallocated provision to support further education, adult and lifelong learning;a movement of £12,674,000 from RfR2 in respect of early years foundation and national strategy;a transfer from Department for Work and Pensions of £132,000 for Joint Birth Registration;a transfer from the Department of Health of £4,000,000 for substance misuse;a transfer from Department for Work and Pensions of £280,000 for child protection;a transfer to the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills of £450,000 for procurement;a transfer to the Department of Health of £175,000 for child migrant trust;a transfer to the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills of £800,000 for inspection of the early years foundation stage;a transfer to the Scottish Office of £157,000 for child trust funds;a decrease of £49,000 from Respect administration that reduces DEL; anda movement of £72,581,000 to non-voted resource DEL to support the department's non-departmental public bodies.
	RFR2
	a transfer of end year flexibility of £59,175,000 to fund Sure Start local authority grants;a transfer from Department for Work and Pensions of £862,000 for child poverty programmes;a movement to RfR1 to support early years foundation and national strategy of £9,786,000;a movement to RfR1 to support early years foundation and children's projects of £168,000;a movement to RfR1 to support early years foundation of £2,720,000;a movement of £6,400,000 from non-voted to Sure Start central government grants;a movement of £1,771,000 to Sure Start schools; anda movement of £3,091,000 to support the department's non departmental public bodies.
	Non-voted resource DEL
	The £20,583,000 increase in non-voted resource DEL arises from:
	a movement of £72,581,000 from voted resource to support the department's non-departmental public bodies;a movement of £25,588,000 from non-voted unallocated provision to voted;a transfer to the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills from non-voted unallocated provision of £6,530,000 for UKCES QCA funding;a transfer to the Home Office from non-voted unallocated provision of £6,000,000 for UKBA, settlement of historic LA claims for UASC service;a transfer to the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills from non-voted unallocated provision of £10,000,000 for transitional relocation costs;a transfer of £1,200,000 from the Department of Health for training and development of the social care workforce;a movement of £6,400,000 to voted Sure Start central government grants;a movement of £1,771,000 to voted Sure Start schools; and a movement of £3,091,000 from Sure Start voted to support the department's non departmental public bodies.
	Capital DEL
	The decrease in the capital element of the DEL of £1,463,000 arises from a £59,451,000 increase in the voted element of capital DEL and a decrease of £60,914,000 in the non-voted element of capital DEL.
	Voted Capital DEL
	The £59,451,000 increase in the voted element of the capital DEL arises from:
	a movement of £3,480,000 from non-voted unallocated provision to support schools and teachers;a movement of £2,780,000 from RfR1 voted capital grants to local authorities to non-voted;a movement of £11,870,000 from non-voted unallocated provision to schools capital;a movement of £2,600,000 from non-voted unallocated provision to departmental central services;a movement of £8,568,000 from non-voted unallocated provision to children and families capital grants;a movement of £5,302,000 from non-voted unallocated provision for capital grants to local authorities to support children and families; anda movement of £30,411,000 from non-voted for capital grants to local authorities.
	Non-voted Capital DEL
	The £60,914,000 decrease in the non-voted element of capital DEL arises from:
	a movement of £3,480,000 to voted provision for support schools and teachers;a movement of £2,780,000 from RfR1 voted to non-voted capital grants to local authorities;a movement of £11,870,000 to voted provision to schools capital;a movement of £2,600,000 to voted provision for departmental central services;a movement of £8,568,000 to voted provision for children and families capital grants; a movement of £5,302,000 to voted provision for capital grants to local authorities to support children and families;a movement of £30,411,000 from non-voted to Sure Start capital grants to local authorities; and a transfer of £1,463,000 from non-voted unallocated provision to the Department for Work and Pensions for education information and accountability services (EAIS).
	Administration Cost Budget
	take up of end year flexibility of £1,950,000 to increase provision for activities to support all functions;a transfer from Department for Work and Pensions of £132,000 for joint birth registration; anda decrease of £49,000 due to changes in respect administration costs.
	Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
	Voted Resource DEL
	A transfer of £10,800,000 from the Department for Children, Schools and Families to allow investment in change projects to deliver long term efficiency.
	The take up of End of Year Flexibility of £21,400,000 for implementation of the Childcare Act 2006 and the requirements of the better regulation executive.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: DEL

Lord Davies of Oldham: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Andy Burnham) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval, the Department for Culture Media and Sport's Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be increased by £52,635,000 from £2,552,209,000 to £2,604,844,000 and the administration cost limit will increase by £6,281,000 from £49,258,000 to £55,539,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resource and capital are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Departmental Expenditure Limits and Administration Budgets 
			  Change  New DEL  £'000 
			  Voted Non-voted Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource DEL 8,285 5,750 115,364 1,519,127 1,634,491 
			 of which:  
			 Administration budget* 6,281 - 55,539 - 55,539 
			 Near-cash in RDEL 8,285 25,750 106,203 1,334,288 1,440,491 
			 Capital** - 38,600 -430,742 1,514,095 1,083,353 
			 Less Depreciation† - 10,000 -6,456 -96,544 -103,000 
			 Total 8,285 54,350 -321,834 2,936,678 2,614,844 
		
	
	* The total of "Administration budget" and "Near-cash in Resource DEL" figures may well be greater than total resource DEL, due to the definitions overlapping.
	** Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in Estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets.
	† Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:
	take-up of £30,100,000 end year flexibility comprising: (£20,000,000) UK Sports; (£3,000,000) Central Sports Support; (£2,000,000) Visit Britain; (£1,200,000) Museums, Libraries and Archives Commission; (£900,000) for the Regional Cultural Consortiums; and (£3,000,000) Administration budget;transfers from other government departments of: £2,000,000 from Department for Work and Pensions for Free Swimming; £1,650,000 from Department for International Development to UK Sport for International Inspirations; and £332,000 from Cabinet Office to cover baseline costs of the parliamentary counsel;transfers to other government departments of: £45,000 to the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) for the Centre for Expertise in Sustainable Procurement and £2,000 to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) for the Government Skills Strategy programme;partially offset by a transfer from non-cash Resource DEL to Capital DEL of £20,000,000;the administration cost limit has increased by £6,281,000 from £49,258,000 to £55,539,000. This is as a result of a transfer from Cabinet Office of £332,000, a transfer to the OGC of £45,000 and a transfer to DIUS of £2,000 all detailed above; take up of £3,000,000 Administration End Year Flexibility and agreed net transfers of £2,996,000 from programme to administration costs, the latter to assist with the costs of the Government Olympic Executive; andthe changes in the capital element of the DEL arise from: take-up of £18,600,000 End Year Flexibility for the Museums and Galleries; a transfer from non-cash Resource DEL to Capital DEL of £20,000,000.

Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills: DEL

Lord Young of Norwood Green: Today my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (John Denham) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be increased by £309,113,000 from £18,241,368,000 to £18,550,481,000 and the Administration Budget will be increased by £5,917,000 from £71,733,000 to £77,650,000.
	Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:
	
		
			 £'000 Change  New DEL   
			  Voted Non-Voted Voted Non-Voted Total 
			 Resource DEL 35,434 237,857 -4,015,406 20,686,468 16,671,062 
			 Of which:  
			 Administration Budget † 5,917 - 77,650 - 77,650 
			 Near Cash in Resource DEL † 31,082 156,494 -5,223,629 20,449,371 15,225,742 
			 Capital DEL †† 1,524 130,476 -159,645 2,281,613 2,121,968 
			 Less Depreciation ††† -65,178 -31,000 -69,796 -172,753 -242,549 
			 Total DEL -28,220 337,333 -4,244,847 22,795,328 18,550,481 
		
	
	† The total of "Administration Budget" and "Near Cash in Resource DEL" figures may well be greater than total Resource DEL, due to the definitions overlapping.
	†† Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in Estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets.
	††† Depreciation, which forms part of Resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL in the table above, since Capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	Resource DEL
	The increase in the Resource element of the DEL of £273,291,000 arises from an increase in the voted element of Resource DEL of £35,434,000 and an increase of £237,857,000 in the non-voted element of Resource DEL.
	Voted Resource DEL
	The £35,434,000 increase in the voted element of Resource DEL arises from:
	RfR1
	the take-up of £84,000,000 of near-cash End Year Flexibility for Higher Education Support for Students (£74,000,000) and Further Education, Skills and International Programmes (£10,000,000);the take-up of £54,715,000 of non-cash End Year Flexibility (EYF) for Higher Education (£48,752,000), Science, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer (£5,732,000) and Further Education, Skills and International Programmes (£231,000);the take-up of £5,917,000 of near-cash Administration costs End Year Flexibility (EYF) for Activities to Support all Functions;the take-up from the Departmental Unallocated Provision (DUP) of £12,472,000 for Higher Education Support for Students (£8,008,000), Higher Education (£2,689,000) and Further Education, Skills and International Programmes (£1,775,000); a transfer from the Ministry of Justice of £1,957,000 for Offender Learning;transfers from Other Government Departments of £959,000 Administration costs for Government Skills;a transfer from the Department for Children, Schools and Families of £450,000 for the Further Education Procurement Consortium;transfers from Other Government Departments of £375,000 other resource for Government Skills;a net movement to non-voted Resource DEL of £53,936,000 consisting of increases to voted Resource DEL for Further Education, Skills and International Programmes (Grants) (£20,553,000), Science, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer (£252,000), and Higher Education (non-cash) (£32,000); and decreases to Higher Education Support for Students (non-cash) (£50,395,000), Higher Education (near-cash) (£12,972,000), Further Education, Skills and International Programmes (Other Current) (£10,291,000), Activities to Support all Functions (£895,000), and Higher Education Support for Students (near-cash) (£220,000);a net increase in voted receipts for the Learning and Skills Council of £56,405,000, offset by a net increase in the Learning and Skills Council non-voted Resource DEL;an increase in voted receipts for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills of £11,819,000, offset by an increase in the UK Commission for Employment and Skills non-voted Resource DEL;an increase in voted receipts for the Higher Education Funding Council for England of £596,000, offset by an increase in the Higher Education Funding Council for England non-voted Resource DEL;an increase in voted receipts of £1,955,000 reflecting the movement of the UK Intellectual Property Office Dividend from non-voted to voted Resource DEL receipts; anda transfer from Administration to Programme in respect of the £959,000 transfers received from Other Government Departments for Government Skills.
	RfR2
	A movement to non-voted Resource DEL of £700,000 from Knowledge Transfer.
	Non-voted Resource DEL
	The £237,857,000 increase in non-voted Resource DEL arises from:
	the take-up of £87,388,000 of near-cash End Year Flexibility (EYF) for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (£30,000,000), the Natural Environment Research Council (£26,706,000), the Science and Technology Facilities Council (£17,651,000), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (£7,255,000), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (£2,595,000), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (£2,353,000), the Medical Research Council (£425,000) and the Economic and Social Research Council (£403,000); the take-up from the Departmental Unallocated Provision (DUP) of £12,472,000 to voted Resource DEL for Higher Education Support for Students (£8,008,000), Higher Education (£2,689,000) and Further Education, Skills and International Programmes (£1,775,000);a transfer from the Department for Children, Schools and Families of £6,530,000 for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills;an increase in the Medical Research Council (MRC) non-voted non-cash Resource DEL of £31,000,000 arising from a claim on the DEL Reserve for the costs of bringing the MRC Commercial Fund into the Budgetary regime;a net movement to non-voted Resource DEL of £53,936,000 from RfR1 voted Resource DEL consisting of increases for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (£65,019,000), the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (£6,138,000), the Student Loans Company (£1,205,000), Investors in People UK (£100,000) and the Office for Fair Access (£60,000); and decreases for the Technology Strategy Board (£12,700,000), the Learning and Skills Council (£4,834,000), the Quality Improvement Agency (£800,000) and the Design Council (£252,000);a movement to non-voted Resource DEL of £700,000 from RfR2 voted Resource DEL for the Natural Environment Research Council;a net increase in the Learning and Skills Council non-voted Resource DEL of £56,405,000, offset by a net increase in voted receipts for the Learning and Skills Council;an increase in the UK Commission for Employment and Skills non-voted Resource DEL of £11,819,000, offset by an increase in voted receipts for UK Commission for Employment and Skills;an increase in the Higher Education Funding Council for England non-voted Resource DEL of £596,000, offset by an increase in voted receipts for the Higher Education Funding Council for England; andan increase in non-voted Resource DEL of £1,955,000 reflecting the movement of the UK Intellectual Property Office Dividend to voted Resource DEL receipts.
	Capital DEL
	The increase in the Capital element of the DEL of £132,000,000 arises from an increase in the voted element of Capital DEL of £1,524,000 and an increase of £130,476,000 in the non-voted element of Capital DEL.
	Voted Capital DEL
	The £1,524,000 increase in the voted element of Capital DEL arises from:
	RfR1
	a movement to non-voted Capital DEL of £100,000 from Further Education, Skills and International Programmes to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills; and an increase in voted Capital DEL of £374,000 brought forward from 2010-11 as announced in the 2008 Pre-Budget Report for Higher Education Support for Students.
	RfR2
	A movement to voted Capital DEL of £1,250,000 from non-voted Capital DEL for the Medical Research Council to the Science and Research Investment Fund.
	Non-voted Capital DEL
	The £130,476,000 increase in the non-voted element of Capital DEL arises from:
	the take-up of £166,626,000 of Capital DEL brought forward from 2010-11 as announced in the 2008 Pre-Budget Report for the Learning and Skills Council (£110,000,000), the Higher Education Funding Council for England (£50,408,000), the Natural Environment Research Council (£5,000,000) and the Student Loans Company (£1,218,000);a transfer to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform of £35,000,000 as agreed in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review settlement;a movement from RfR1 voted Capital DEL of £100,000 to non-voted Capital DEL for the UK commission for Employment and Skills; anda movement to RfR2 voted Capital DEL of £1,250,000 from non-voted Capital DEL for the Medical Research Council to the Science and Research Investment Fund.
	Administration Budget
	RfR1
	The £5,917,000 increase within the Administration Budget arises from:
	the take-up of £5,917,000 of near-cash End Year Flexibility (EYF);transfers from Other Government Departments totalling £959,000 for Government Skills; and a transfer from Administration to Programme in respect of the £959,000 transfers received from Other Government Departments for Government Skills.

Department for International Development: DEL

Lord Tunnicliffe: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development (Douglas Alexander) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for International Development's departmental expenditure limit (DEL) will be reduced by £29,787,000 from £5,736,451,000 to £5,706,664,000.
	Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Change New DEL £'000 
			  Voted Non-voted Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource DEL -12,494 -17,293 3,997,815 839,849 4,837,664 
			 of which:  
			 Administration budget* 848 -853 162,950 - 162,950 
			 Near-cash in RDEL -22,494 -7,293 3,898,815 849,849 4,748,664 
			 Capital DEL** 10,000 -10,000 891,000 - 891,000 
			 Less depreciation*** - - -22,000 - -22,000 
			 Total DEL -2,494 -27,293 4,866,815 839,849 5,706,664 
		
	
	* The total of "Administration budget" and "Near-cash in Resource DEL" figures may well be greater than total resource DEL, due to the definitions overlapping.
	** Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets.
	*** Depreciation, which forms part of the resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL, since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of these assets would lead to double counting.
	The net change in the resource element of DEL arises from:
	Additions
	£916,000 transferred from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in respect of Stabilisation Aid Fund projects in Afghanistan. Reductions£1,650,000 transferred to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in respect of projects connected to the London 2012 Olympics. £300,000 transferred to the Ministry of Defence in respect of payments to locally engaged staff in Iraq. £1,000,000 transferred to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in respect of the Returns and Reintegration Fund. £5,000 transferred to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills in respect of the Skills Strategy for Government project. £6,716,000 transferred to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in respect of the Conflict Prevention Pool. £18,899,000 transferred to the Ministry of Defence in respect of the Conflict Prevention Pool. £216,000 transferred to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in respect of a Conflict Pool project in Ghana. £917,000 transferred to the Ministry of Defence in respect of Stabilisation Aid Fund projects in Iraq. £1,000,000 transferred to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in respect of a police reform project in Pakistan. There is no net change in the capital element of DEL.

Department for Work and Pensions: DEL

Lord McKenzie of Luton: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (James Purnell) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for Work and Pensions total Departmental Expenditure Limit will increase by £175,531,000 from £7,837,785,000 to £8,013,316,000 and the administration budget will increase by £139,878,000 from £5,693,829,000 to £5,833,707.
	Within the Departmental Expenditure Limit change, the impact on resource and capital is as set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Change £k New Departmental Expenditure Limit £k 
			  Voted Non-voted Total Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 207,846 -51,120 156,726 6,589,338 1,457,027 8,046,365 
			 of which:   
			 Administration 189,878 -50,000 139,878 5,833,707 - 5,833,707 
			 Near-cash 207,527 -50,801 156,726 6,396,664 1,487,824 7,844,488 
			 Capital 2,546 1,319 3,865 80,659 1,745 82,404 
			 Depreciation1 14,621 319 14,940 -114,177 -1,276 -115,453 
			 Total 225,013 -49,482 175,531 6,555,820 1,457,496 8,013,316 
		
	
	1 Depreciation, which forms part of resource Departmental Expenditure Limit, is excluded from the total Departmental Expenditure Limit since the capital Departmental Expenditure Limit includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit
	The change in the resource element of the Departmental Expenditure Limit arises from:
	Request for Resources 1i. a draw down of £46,000,000 of the Department's Resource End of Year Flexibility stock to fund expenditure of the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission.Request for Resources 2ii an increase of £20,000,000 as a result of benefit savings realised by the rollout of Provider Led Pathways. An agreement with HM Treasury allows the Department to convert 50p of every £1 saved into Departmental Expenditure Limit funding;iii a budget transfer of £1,455,000 to the Ministry of Justice to fund increased operating costs relating to the introduction of Employment Support Allowance;iv a budget transfer of £220,000 to the Ministry of Justice to fund expected increases in consent orders through the courts for child maintenance, following repeal of section 6 of the Child Support Act 1991;v a budget transfer of £330,000 to the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in relation to Mesothelioma compensation payments;vi a budget transfer of £132,000 to the Department for Children, Schools and Families relating to Joint Birth registrations;vii budget transfers to the Scottish Government £114,000, the Welsh Assembly £66,000 and the Department for Children, Schools and Families £1,142,000 in relation to Child Poverty Pilots;viii a transfer of £4,000,000 Administration funding was made to the Government Equalities Office, in return for £4,000,000 of Programme funding, resulting in a net nil overall impact on the Departmental Expenditure Limit; andix a £3,500,000 reduction in Departmental Expenditure Limit to contribute to increased Annually Managed Expenditure resulting from enhancements to the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme, announced as part of the Government's package of help for home-owners.Request for Resources 3x a draw down of £55,000,000 from the Department's Modernisation Fund. As part of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 (CSR07), the Department was given access to a Modernisation Fund of £550,000,000, across all CSR07 years, in addition to its settlement funding; andxi a budget transfer of £2,000,000 to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to support the Government's free swimming initiative.Request for Resources 5xii a draw down of £45,000,000 from the Department's Modernisation Fund. Refer paragraph 12. above; andxiii a budget transfer of £315,000 to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills in relation to the Government Skills Programme. Capital Departmental Expenditure LimitThe change in the capital element of the Departmental Expenditure Limit arises from: Request for Resources 3xiv a budget transfer of £2,402,000 from the Northern Ireland Executive relating to the Pension Transformation Programme; andxv a budget transfer of £1,463,000 from the Department for Children, Schools and Families relating to the Employee Identification and Authentication Services.Request for Resources 5xvi a budget transfer of £1.5 million from the Department for Children, Schools and Families in relation to the Employee Authentication Service project.Administration costsThe movement in the Administration Cost limit arises from the changes to the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit as noted in items i, iii, iv, vi, viii, x, xii and xiii above, and item xvii below.Movements in Non-Voted Resource ExpenditureThe changes in non-voted resource expenditure arise from:Request for Resources 1xvii a £50,000,000 reduction in non-voted resource fully offset by a £50,000,000 increase in voted resource to reflect the allocation of the Departmental Unallocated Provision to support expenditure on the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. Request for Resources 2xviii an increase in non-voted expenditure of £1,313,000 offset by a decrease in voted expenditure of £1,313,000 in respect of increased spend of Working Ventures (UK) Limited.Request for Resources 3xix an increase in non-voted expenditure of £8,000,000 offset by a decrease in voted expenditure of £8,000,000 on respect of an increased utilisation of the Financial Assistance Scheme provision; xx a reduction in non-voted expenditure of £141,000 offset by an increase in voted expenditure of £141,000 in respect of decreased spend of The Pensions Advisory Service;xxi an increase in non-voted expenditure of £82,000 offset by a decrease in voted expenditure of £82,000 in respect of decreased spend of The Pensions Ombudsman;xxii a reduction in non-voted expenditure of £3,801,000 offset by an increase in voted expenditure of £3,801,000 in respect of decreased spend of The Pensions Regulator; andxxiii a reduction in non-voted expenditure of £6,573,000 offset by an increase in voted expenditure of £6,573,000 in respect of decreased spend of the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority.Movements in Non-Voted Capital ExpenditureThe changes in non-voted capital relate to the following adjustments: Request for Resources 3xxiv an increase in non-voted expenditure of £448,000 offset by a decrease in voted expenditure of £448,000 in respect of increased spend of The Pensions Regulator; andxxv an increase in non-voted expenditure of £871,000 offset by a decrease in voted expenditure of £871,000 in respect of increased spend of the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority.

Department of Energy and Climate Change: DEL

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Energy (Ed Miliband) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of the new estimate, the total Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) budget for the Department of Energy and Climate Change will be £2,790,657,000 and the administration budget will be £98,320,000.
	
		
			£'000 
			  Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource DEL -844,531 1,933,534 1,089,003 
			 of which:
			 Administration budget † 98,320 0 98,320 
			 Near-cash in RDEL † -949,315 1,981,286 1,031,971 
			 Capital DEL †† 513,230 1,195,401 1,708,631 
			 Less Depreciation ††† -3,105 -3,872 -6,977 
			 Total DEL -334,406 3,125,063 2,790,657 
		
	
	† The total of "Administration Budget" and "Near-cash in Resource DEL" figures may well be greater than total resource DEL, due to the definitions overlapping.
	†† Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in estimates and accounts, but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets.
	††† Depreciation, which forms part of Resource DEL, is excluded from total DEL since Capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The resource element of the DEL arises from:
	a machinery-of-government transfer from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform of a net negative £963,013,000 voted near-cash, £1,711,504,000 of non-voted near-cash, a net negative £2,980,000 voted non-cash and a net negative £47,752,000 of non-voted non-cash in respect of supporting affordable, secure and sustainable energy and managing historic energy liabilities effectively and responsibly;a machinery-of-government transfer from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of £152,512,000 voted near-cash and £34,000,000 of non-voted near-cash in respect of bringing about a low-carbon Britain, developing an international agreement on climate change and promoting low-carbon technologies in developing countries; a reduction in non-voted expenditure of £27,000,000 and a reduction in voted income of £28,932,000 relating to reclassification of entities within the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority;an increase in non-voted expenditure of £296,782,000 and an increase in voted income of £296,782,000 due to updated income and expenditure forecasts for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority;a reserve claim of £54,100,000 non-cash in respect of an increase in provision for the Concessionary Fuel Scheme;utilisation of end-year flexibility of £50,300,000 non-cash in respect of an increase in provision for the Concessionary Fuel Scheme;a transfer of £80,000 from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in respect of compensation for mesothelioma sufferers; andan increase in voted near-cash expenditure and a decrease in non-voted near-cash expenditure of £34,000,000 with respect to take-up of departmental unallocated provision for the Warm Front programme.Also within the Resource DEL, the administration budget arises from:a machinery-of-government transfer from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform of £52,471,000 near-cash and £3,000 of non-cash in respect of professional support and infrastructure; anda machinery-of-government transfer from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of £42,485,000 near-cash and £3,361,000 of non-cash in respect of professional support and infrastructure. The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from:a machinery-of-government transfer from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform of a net negative £7,582,000 voted and £1,248,183,000 non-voted in respect of supporting affordable, secure and sustainable energy and managing historic energy liabilities effectively and responsibly; a machinery-of-government transfer from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of £402,030,000 voted and £16,000,000 non-voted in respect of bringing about a low-carbon Britain, developing an international agreement on climate change and promoting low-carbon technologies in developing countries;a 2008 Pre-Budget Report award of £50,000,000 in respect of bringing about a low-carbon Britain;a reduction in voted income of £52,782,000 and a reduction in non-voted expenditure of £52,782,000 due to updated income and expenditure forecasts for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; andan increase in voted expenditure and a decrease in non-voted expenditure of £16,000,000 with respect to take-up of departmental unallocated provision for the Warm Front programme.

Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform: DEL

Lord Davies of Abersoch: Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, UKTI's total DEL will be decreased by £199,000 from £91,506,000 to £91,307,000. This reflects the net transfer of £200,000 in Voted capital from UKTI's Vote to BERR's Vote. Within the total DEL change, the impact on resources and capital is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Change  New DEL   
			  Voted Non-Voted Voted Non-Voted £'000Total 
			 Resources DEL 1 - 91,506 - 91,506 
			 Of which:  
			 Near-cash in RDEL 1 - 91,419 - 91,419 
			 Capital DEL † -200 - 48 - 48 
			 Less Depreciation †† - - -166 - -166 
			 Total DEL -199 - 91,388 - 91,388 
		
	
	UKTI's Vote does not include Administration provision, which is included in the Estimates of our parent departments, BERR and FCO.
	The change in the resource element of DEL arises from:
	a token increase of £1,000 to allow an increase in appropriations-in-aid to be included in the Estimate.
	The change in the capital element of DEL arises from:
	a transfer of capital underspend of £200,000 to BERR to fund capital works to UKTI accommodation.
	† Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in Estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets.
	†† Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from total DEL since Capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

HM Treasury: DEL

Lord Myners: My honourable friend, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Angela Eagle) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of the spring supplementary estimate, HM Treasury's Resource DEL will be increased by £73,000 from £221,551,000 to £221,624,000 and the Administration Budget will be increased by £118, 18,000 from £169,425,000 to £169, 543, 000 with no net change in the capital DEL. The impact on resources and the administration budget is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Change  New DEL   
			  Voted Non- voted Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 6,386,000 -6,313,000 201,032,000; 20,592,000 221,624,000 
			 Of which  
			 Administration budget * 4,431,000 -4,313,000 169,543,000 - 169,543,000 
			 Near cash in RDEL * 6,373,000 -6,313,000 189,197,000 31,492,000 220,689,000 
			 Capital ** 700 -700 5,500,000 1,521,000 7,021,000 
			 Less: Depreciation *** - - -9,190,000  -9,190,000 
			 Total 7,086,000 -7,013,000 197,342,000 22,113,000 219,455,000 
		
	
	* The total of 'Administration budget' and 'Near cash in Resource DEL' figures may well be greater than total Resource DEL, due to definitions overlapping.
	** Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in Estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets.
	***Depreciation, which forms part of Resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since Capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The net increase in resource DEL of £73,000 is the net effect of the following:
	a transfer to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills of £17,000 administration costs as a contribution towards the costs of the Skills Strategy; and transfers from the Departments of Health and Culture, Media and Sport of £45,000 near cash administration costs each to the Office of Government Commerce towards the costs of the Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Procurement.
	The net increase in the administration costs budget is £118,000 comprising the administration costs changes mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, plus the reclassification of a programme costs transfer from the UK Statistics Authority received in the winter Supplementary Estimates round to administration costs of £45,000.
	There is a reduction in non voted Resource DEL due to the draw down of Departmental Unallocated Provision (DUP) comprising £4,313,000 administration costs and £2,000,000 programme costs to offset increased voted spending. There is also a reduction in non-voted capital DEL due to the draw down of DUP of £700,000.

National Savings and Investments: DEL

Lord Myners: My honourable friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Ian Pearson) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, National Savings and Investments DEL will be increased by £18,900,000 to £183,547,000. Within DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Change  New Del  Total 
			  Voted Non-voted Voted Non-Voted  
			 Resource Del: 18,900 - 185,199 - 185,199 
			 Of which:-  
			 Administration budget: 18,900 - 185,199 - 185,199 
			 Near cash in RDEL: 18,900 - 180,592 - 180,592 
			 Capital - - 1,438 - 1,438 
			 Depreciation* - - -3,090 - -3,090 
			 Total 18,900 - 183,547 - 183,547 
		
	
	* Depreciation which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of DEL arises from:
	a drawdown of E 6,900,000 from the Modernisation Fund for the upgrade of NS&I's core IT infrastructure;the take up of DEL End Year Flexibility (EYF) of £12,000,000 (near cash) to cover payments related to increased sales volumes; andthe change in the administration budget arises from the Modernisation Fund draw down.

HM Revenue and Customs: DEL

Lord Myners: My right honourable friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Stephen Timms) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of the supplementary estimate, the HM Revenue & Customs total DEL will be increased by £75,248,000 from £4,539,797,000 to £4,615,045,000. Within the total DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:
	
		
			  £'000 
			  Change  New DEL   
			  Voted Non-Voted Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource DEL 62,248 - 4,144,792 347,739 4,492,531 
			 Of which  
			 Administration Budget † 62,248 - 4,392,050 - 4,392,050 
			 Near-cash in RDEL † 62,248 - 3,804,910 -381,887 4,186,797 
			 Capital †† 16,648 -3,648  301,514 301,514 
			 Less Depreciation ††† - - -179,000 0 -179,000 
			 Total DEL 78,896 -3,648 4,267,306 347,739 4,615,045 
		
	
	† The total of 'Administration Budget' and 'Near-cash in Resource DEL' figures may well be greater than total resource DEL, due to the definitions overlapping.
	†† Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in Estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets.
	††† Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of DEL arises from:
	modernisation Fund drawdown of £62,500,000 administration near cash costs to modernise and transform HMRC; andnear cash administration costs transfer of £252,000, to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills to fund the Skills Strategy for Government.
	The change in the administration budget arises from the changes detailed in the resource element above.
	The change in the capital element of DEL arises from:
	capital take up from the Modernisation Fund of £13,000,000 for various programmes supporting the modernisation of the Department; andtake up of Departmental Unallocated Provision of £3,648,000 to facilitate improvements to key operational activities (this is DEL neutral).

Pensions

Lord Myners: My right honourable friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Yvette Cooper) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Legislation governing public service pensions requires them to be increased annually by the same percentage as additional pensions (state earnings related pension and state second pension). Public service pensions will therefore be increased from 6 April 2009 in line with the annual increase in the retail prices index up to September 2008, except for those public service pensions which have been in payment for less than a year, which will receive a pro-rata increase.

Government Equalities Office

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My right honourable friend the Minister for Women and Equality (Harriet Harman) has made the following Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Government Equalities Office Departmental Expenditure Limit will increase by £1,000 from £83,602,000 to £83,603,000 and the administration budget will increase by £4,001,000 from £4,085,000 to £8,086,000.
	Within the Departmental Expenditure Limit change, the impact on resource and capital is as set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Change £k   New Departmental Expenditure Limit £k   
			  Voted Non-voted Total Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 1 - 1 14,006 63,161 77,167 
			 of which:   
			 Administration 4,001 - 4,001 8,086 - 8,086 
			 Near-cash - - - 14,005 62,773 76,778 
			 Capital - - - - 7,000 7,000 
			 Depreciation1 - - -  -564 -564 
			 Total 1 - 1 14,006 69,597 83,603 
		
	
	1 Depreciation, which forms part of resource Departmental Expenditure Limit, is excluded from the total Departmental Expenditure Limit since the capital Departmental Expenditure Limit includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit
	The change in the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit arises from a token increase to the administration forecast, where a Department's expenditure within the Estimate is wholly offset by income, so that a token amount of £1,000 is voted.
	Administration Costs Limit
	The movement in the Administration Cost Limit arises from a funding exchange between the Government Equalities Office and Department for Work and Pensions, in which the Government Equalities Office has exchanged programme funding for administration funding, to ease the funding pressures arising from the creation of the Government Equalities Office as a stand alone Department.

Charity Commission: DEL

Baroness Vadera: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Kevin Brennan) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Plans to change the Charity Commission's Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) and administration budget for 2008-09.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Charity Commission total DEL will be increased by £1,850,000 from £30,852,000 to £32,702,000. Within the total DEL change, the impact on resources and capital is as set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Departmental Expenditure Limits and Administration Budget 
			  Change  New DEL  £'000 
			  Voted Non-voted Non-voted Voted Total 
			 Resource DEL 1,450 0 32,422 0 32,422 
			 Of which: *  
			 Administration budget 1,450 0 32,422 0 32,422 
			 Near cash in RDEL 1,450 0 31,272 0 31,272 
			 Capital DEL ** 400 0 1,100 0 1,100 
			 Depreciation *** - 0 -820 0 -820 
			 Total 1,850 0 32,702 0 32,702 
		
	
	* The total of 'Administration budget' and 'Near cash in Resource DEL' may be greater than total resource DEL due to the definitions overlapping.
	** Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in Estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets.
	*** Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of the DEL and in the administration budget arises from the takeup of the remaining £400,000 from the Modernisation Fund (out of a total £3 million agreed in the CSR 07 settlement) and the utilisation of £1,050,000 of the Commission's Resource EYF.
	The change in the capital element of the DEL reflects the utilisation of £400,000 of the Commission's capital EYF.
	All of these funds will be used to pay for the costs of making ready the Commission's new accommodation at Fox Court in London. The Commission is due to leave its current London accommodation in June 2009.

National Savings and Investments: DEL

Lord Myners: My honourable friend, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Ian Pearson) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary Supplementary Estimate, National Savings and Investments DEL will be increased by£18,900,000 to £183,547,000. Within DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Change  New Del  Total 
			  Voted Non-voted Voted Non-Voted  
			 Resource Del: 18,900 - 185,199 - 185,199 
			 Of which:-  
			 Administration budget: 18,900 - 185,199 - 185,199 
			 Near cash in RDEL: 18,900 - 180,592 - 180,592 
			 Capital - - 1,438 - 1,438 
			 Depreciation* - - -3,090 - -3,090 
			 Total 18,900 - 183,547 - 183,547 
		
	
	* Depreciation which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of DEL arises from:
	a drawdown of £ 6,900,000 from the Modernisation Fund for the upgrade of NS&I's core IT infrastructure;the take up of DEL End Year Flexibility (EYF) of £12,000,000 (near cash) to cover payments related to increased sales volumes; and the change in the administration budget arises from the Modernisation Fund draw down.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: DEL

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: My honourable friend the Minister for the Natural and Marine Environment, Wildlife and Rural Affairs (Huw Irranca-Davies) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DEL will be reduced by £656,314,000 from £3,746,278,000 to £3,089,964,000 and the Administration Budget will be reduced by £45,880,000 from £356,463,000 to £310,583,000. These movements in the DEL Budget are mainly due to the machinery of government transfer to the Department of Energy and Climate Change. That apart, the overall effect on Defra's DEL Budget is minimal with the forecast outturn anticipated to run close to allocated budget. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:
	
		
			  £'000s 
			  Change  New DEL   
			  Voted Non-voted Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource -24,629 -207,707 4,050,855 -1,362,984 2,687,871 
			 of which:  
			 Administration Budget -45,880 - 310,583 - 310,583 
			 Near-cash in RDEL -40,518 -188,457 3,829,710 -1,446,278 2,383,432 
			 Capital -405,780 -12,250 259,902 338,939 598,841 
			 Depreciation* -8,748 2,800 -96,949 -99,799 -196,748 
			 Total -439,157 -217,157 4,213,808 -1,123,844 3,089,964 
		
	
	*Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from (i) a transfer of £45,846,000 administration spend from the Climate Change Group located in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC); (ii) a transfer of £34,000 administration spend to Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) for skills strategy; (iii) a transfer of £152,512,000 programme spend from the Climate Change Group located in Defra to DECC (iv) a transfer of £34,000,000 Non-voted Departmental Unallocated Provision (DUP) to the DECC; (v) take up of End Year Flexibility for Investing in Communities Invest to Save Budget (ISB) of £56,000.
	The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from (i) a transfer of £402,030,000 from the Climate Change Group located in Defra to DECC; (ii) a transfer of £16,000,000 Non-voted Departmental Unallocated Provision (DUP) to DECC.
	The change in the depreciation budget is due to (i) £3,102,000 transferring to DECC for the machinery of government transfer; (ii) a transfer of £12,050,000 non cash costs from Natural England to Defra across non-cash categories; (iii) re-profiling of Forestry Commissions (FC) Budget of £3,000,000 across non-cash categories.

Department for Transport: DEL

Lord Adonis: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Geoff Hoon) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for Transport departmental expenditure limit (DEL) for 2008-09 will be decreased by £11,270,000 from £13,239,009,000 to £13,227,739,000 and the administration budget will be increased by £11,200,000 from £281,926,000 to £293,126,000.
	Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital, are as set out in the following table:
	
		
			 '000  
			   Change   NEW DEL 
			  Voted Non-voted Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 113,222 360,641 6,043,726 786,274 6,830,000 
			 Of which  
			 Administration budget 11,250 -50 293,126 0 293,126 
			 Near-cash in RDEL -343,196 358,141 5,105,243 979,839 6,085,082 
			 Capital 227,060 -227,060 6,360,478 922,751 7,283,229 
			 Depreciation (1) -485.133 0 -852,898 -32,592 -885,490 
			 Total -144,851 133,581 11,551,306 1,676,433 13,227,739 
		
	
	(1) Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL is excluded from the total DEL, since capital DEL includes capital pending and to include depreciation of those assets would led to double counting.
	Resource Change: Administration (total increase of £11,200,000)
	Voted: total increase of £11,250,000
	RfR1
	(i) Take up of £11,200,000 near cash end year flexibility for administration pressures (0,045,000);
	(ii) £50,000 near cash transfer from non voted for administration pressures;
	(iii) Within the Administration Budget £3,800,000 of non-cash headroom has been converted to near cash, permitted under Treasury guidelines, to meet pressures in estates and aviation.
	Non Voted: total decrease of £50,000.
	Transfer of £50,000 to administration near cash voted provision.
	Resource Change: Programme (total increase of £462,663,000)
	Voted: total increase of £101,972,000
	RfR1
	(i) Treasury agreed increase of £462,718,000* non cash to reflect the accounting treatment of changes in fair values arising from the implementation of accounting standards FRS 25 and FRS 26 for: London and Continental Railways (£300,000,000); Network Rail's Debt Issuance Programme (£164,886,000); and the Air Travel Trust Fund (£-2,168,000); partially offset by
	* The £462, 718, 000 is included in the £485,133, 000 depreciation increase for the Spring Supplementary Estimate which also includes an increase of £26,215, 000 for the Highways Agency partially offset by a decrease of f3,800, 000 for central administration.
	(ii) A net transfer of £360,691,000 to non voted provision as follows:
	(a) £369,383,000 near cash headroom from rail: for the net operating losses of London and Continental Railways (£252,000,000); to the departmental unallocated provision in respect of programme slippage into 2009-10 (£104,928,000); and to cover a shortfall in Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency receipts (£12,455,000);(b) £4,045,000 near cash headroom from cleaner fuels and vehicles to cover a shortfall in Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency receipts;(c) £500,000 near cash from other transport grants transferred to railways to allow payments to both the Rail Passenger Council and the Bus Passenger Council to be administered more efficiently; (d) £2,500,000 non cash to reflect the write back of Voluntary Early retirement provision; partially offset by(e) £15,737,000 near cash use of Consolidated Fund Extra Receipts within the Departmental Expenditure Limit by the Highways Agency.
	(iii) A transfer of £55,000 near cash to the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills for Government skills.
	Non-Voted: total net increase of £360,691,000
	(i) £360,691,000 transferred from voted provision of which £358,191,000 is near cash and £2,500,000 non cash.
	Capital Change: (no net change)
	Voted: total increase of £227, 060, 000 RfR1
	(i) A net transfer of £227,060,000 from non voted provision as follows:
	(a) a transfer from departmental unallocated provision to Network Rail capital grants (£258,060,000); partially offset by(b) a transfer of £5,100,000 from headroom on other transport grants (£3,100,000) and aviation services, transport security and royal travel (£2,000,000) to the shared services transformation project; and(c). a transfer of £25,900,000 2012 Olympics underspend to the departmental unallocated provision for use on this programme in future years.
	Non- Voted: total decrease of £227, 7,060, 000
	(i) A net transfer of £227,060,000 to voted provision.

Department for Transport: DEL

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Shaun Woodward) has made the following Ministerial Statement:
	Subject to parliamentary approval the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) will be taking a 2008/09 Spring Supplementary Estimate. The effect this will have is to increase the NIO's DEL by £146,802,000 from £1,215,517,000 to £1,362,319,000.
	
		
			  Change New DEL
			 £'000 Voted Non-Voted Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 57,596 48,484 392,993 951,451 1,344,444 
			 Admin Budget (1,260) - 76,025 - 76,025 
			 Near-cash 42,425 33,305 295,225 708,517 1,003,742 
			 Capital 8,000 (40) 36,137 43,726 79,863 
			 Depreciation 17,690 15,072 (20,836) (41,152) (61,988) 
			 Total 83,286 63,516 408,294 954,025 1,362,319 
		
	
	The change in total DEL of £146,802,000 relates to the draw down of End Year Flexibility of £89,334,000 (£81,534,000 resource and £7,800,000 capital); rephasing of non-cash budgets from 2009/10 into 2008/09 of £12,184,000 for PSNI and Compensation Agency; additional funding of £12,250,000 for the implementation of FRS 17 and FRS 26; and resource and capital budget transfers with other government departments resulting in a net increase of £272,000.
	The take up of End Year Flexibility is required to supplement baselines in Political Directorate, Criminal Justice Directorate, Northern Ireland Prison Service, Central Administration, Public Prosecution Service, Youth Justice Agency, Policing Non-Severance, Bloody Sunday Inquiry, Policing and Security and Compensation Agency.
	The administration budget decreases by £1,260,000 from £77,285,000 to £76,025,000. This is due to the transfer of £1,726,000 from Administration to Programme for Forensic Science Northern Ireland and Life Sentence Review Commissioners. Additionally there are resource budget transfers of £500,000 from the Department of Finance and Personnel, Northern Ireland for accommodation costs; £28,000 to the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, Northern Ireland for staff costs; and £6,000 to the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills for the Skills Strategy for Government programme.
	The increase in capital DEL of £7,960,000 reflects the budget transfer of £160,000 from the Department of Finance and Personnel, Northern Ireland for energy costs in the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the take up of £7,800,000 End Year Flexibility to meet additional capital requirements in the Northern Ireland Prison Service.
	The Northern Ireland Executive DEL will increase by £182,606,000 from £8,881,173,000 to £9,063,779,000.
	The change reflects the take up of End Year Flexibility of £225,000,000 (£125,000,000 resource and £100,000,000 capital); additions of £1,809,000 arising from the 2008 Pre Budget Report; net outward budget transfers to other departments of £2,748,000; a reduction of £50,880,000 for Northern Ireland Water as a result of it becoming a Government Owned Company; and an increase of £9,425,000 to take account of capital reprofiling from 2010-11.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: DEL

Lord Malloch-Brown: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (David Miliband) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be increased by £128,154,000 from £2,080,557,000 to £2,208,711,000. The administration budget will be decreased by £18,000 from £430,535,000 to £430,517,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Change £000  New DEL £000   
			  Voted Non-Voted Voted Non-Voted Total 
			 Resource 98,154 - 2,074,701 3,000 2,077,701 
			 Of which:  
			 Administration budget * -18 - 430,517 - 430,517 
			 Near-cash in Resource DEL 118,154 - 1,923,647 17,000 1,940,647 
			 Capital** 10,000 - 216,060 - 216,060 
			 Depreciation 20,000 - -85,050 - -85,050 
			 Total 128,154 - 2,205,711 3,000 2,208,711 
		
	
	* The total of "Administration budget" and "Near-cash in Resource DEL" figures may well be greater than total resource DEL, due to the definitions overlapping.
	** Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in Estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets.
	Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:
	Request for Resources 1
	Administration
	£18,000 transfer of administration budget to DIUS for Government Skills.
	Programme
	take-up of £10,800,000 other current EYF in respect of restructuring;take-up of £6,500,000 other current EYF in respect of adverse currency fluctuations;claim on the Reserve of £24,500,000 other current in respect of Consular Premiums;claim on the Reserve of £24,000,000 current grants in respect of the International Subscriptions cost-sharing agreement;transfer of £4,700,000 from the Home Office for work on migration;transfer of £1,000,000 other current from DfID in respect of the Returns and Reintegration Fund;transfer of £200,000 other current from DfID in respect of bilateral project work in Africa;transfer of £11,120,000 other current to the Security and Intelligence Agencies for expansion and capability;transfer of £1,800,000 other current to MoD for counternarcotics work in Afghanistan;transfer of £270,000 other current to the Security and Intelligence Agencies for expansion and capability; transfer of £104,000 other current to the Home Office in respect of gratis visas for Zenit St Petersburg fans; andtransfer of £10,000,000 other current to capital in respect of capital pressures, in particular FCO Services capitalisation.
	Neutral Changes
	to reflect the estimated indirect resource impact of the introduction of the IFRS Financial Instruments trigger point 1 on unrealised gains for forward purchase of stirling contracts of £80,000,000, with an offsetting debit in impairments;transfer of £39,400,000 other current from RfR1 to RfR2 in respect of peacekeeping pool funds in Africa;transfer from depreciation to near cash other current of £20,000,000;transfer of £6,900,000 other current to British Council in respect of exchange rate fluctuations and the cost of the Turner exhibition in China;budget-neutral increase in A-in-A and administration costs of £20,000,000 for services provided to partners across government, including FTN telecom charges;budget-neutral increase in A-in-A and other current of £22,000,000 for consular fees;budget-neutral increase in A-in-A and other current of £309,700,000 for UKBA charges following the MoG change; andbudget-neutral increase in A-in-A and other current of £600,000 in respect of FCOS interest payments.
	Request for Resources 2
	Programme
	a claim on the Reserve of £27,600,000 current grants in respect of the take up of the balance of peacekeeping pool funds of which £13,925,000 for Africa and £13,675,000 for rest of world;transfer of £15,350,000 current grants from MoD in respect of the Stabilisation Aid Fund of which £13,600,000 is for work in Afghanistan and £1,750,000 for work in Iraq;transfer of £1,000,000 current grants from DfID in respect of global conflict prevention work;transfer of £6,516,000 current grants from DfID in respect of conflict prevention work in Africa;transfer of £216,000 current grants from DfID in respect of work in Ghana by the Carter Centre; andtransfer of £916,000 to DfID in respect of management of Stabilisation Aid Fund projects in Afghanistan.
	Neutral Changes
	transfer of £39,400,000 other current from RfR1 to RfR2 in respect of peacekeeping pool funds in Africa.
	The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from:
	Request for Resources 1
	Capital
	transfer of £10,000,000 other current to capital in respect of capital pressures, in particular FCO Services capitalisation.

Guantanamo Bay: Binyam Mohamed

Lord Malloch-Brown: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (David Miliband) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement:
	On 5 February I made an oral Statement to the House on the case of Mr Binyam Mohamed, following the judgment handed down in the High Court on 4 February. As I underlined in the debate that followed, we are working as fast and as hard as we can to secure Mr Mohamed's release from Guantanamo Bay and return to the UK.
	I now wish to update the House regarding progress made in Mr Mohamed's case.
	Senior government officials, including Her Majesty's ambassador to the United States, have held further talks with the US Administration in recent days. President Obama issued executive orders on 22 January which established a review of the cases of all those detained at Guantanamo Bay. Following our representations, the US Administration have now agreed that Mr Mohamed's case should be treated as a priority in this process. We continue to work with the US to achieve a swift resolution.
	We have long been concerned by reports of Mr Mohamed's welfare and medical condition. Yesterday I met Mr Mohamed's US military defence counsel, Lieutenant-Colonel Yvonne Bradley, and her account underlined those concerns. The US Government have also agreed that Foreign Office officials should visit Mr Mohamed as soon as possible. The visit will help us make preparations for his return, should the review confirm a decision to release him. The team will include a medical examiner, who would take part in any return, so that he may assess Mr Mohamed's condition himself and report back.
	I will keep the House informed on this issue.

Health: Children and Young People

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (Ed Balls) made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Today my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, and I are announcing the publication of Healthy Lives, Brighter Futures: The Strategy for Children and Young People's Health.
	A healthy start in life is at the heart of a happy childhood and the ability of every young person to achieve their potential and grow up well prepared for the challenges of adolescence and adulthood.
	Children and young people are healthier than ever before, but we now have the opportunity to go further. We need to do more to achieve world-class health outcomes and minimise health inequalities, offering services of the highest quality and an excellent experience for the young people and their families who use them.
	We know that we must do more to provide mothers and fathers with the support they need to give their children the best start and to help young people to make healthy choices as they grow up and take more responsibility for themselves.
	Our two departments have come together to produce this long-term strategy to improve health outcomes for all children and young people from pre-birth to 19. It is a direct response to the views and concerns of young people, parents and professionals working with children and families.
	Healthy Lives, Brighter Futures sets out how we will work in partnership with local authorities and primary care trusts and those working across children's health services to build the quality of support for families at key stages in their children's lives—during pregnancy and the early years of children's lives, for school-age children as well as young people. Our package of support for children and young people with acute and additional health needs is backed by a total of £770 million funding over three years to 2010-11, the largest ever investment in these services.
	Investing in children's health from the early years through childhood and adolescence will benefit children, families, society and the NHS.
	We have met many children, young people, parents and practitioners in the process of putting this strategy together. Children and young people want easier access to health services to support their psychological as well as physical health. Parents and carers want better information about what services are available locally, with better links between the services that their children use. Front-line staff want help with providing excellent, integrated health and healthcare services for children and families.
	Through High Quality Care for All: NHS Next Stage Review Final Report we set out how the NHS would meet the challenges of the 21st century. Healthy Lives, Brighter Futures sets out how we will continue to deliver improvements in children's physical and psychological health, building on existing policies such as the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services and the Every Child Matters reforms.
	The strategy builds on work already in train to improve the quality and consistency of services, support and opportunities that families and children can expect in their local area. Services already aim to promote healthy lifestyles, intervene early where health problems arise and deliver support tailored to families' needs: easily accessible support in pregnancy and early years of children's life through Sure Start children's centres and GP practices; helping children to take increasing personal responsibility for their health during their school years and young people to deal with the health challenges of adolescence; good access to urgent care; and specialist support for children with complex and long-term conditions, so that every child can reach their full potential.
	Through the strategy, we are making commitments to improve this existing support for children, young people and families:
	during pregnancy and the early years of life, more health visitors, and a strengthened role for Sure Start children's centres with each centre having access to a named health visitor; further expansion of the successful family nurse partnership programme for vulnerable first-time mothers; and the development and testing of a new antenatal and preparation for parenthood programme for mothers and fathers; for school-age children and their families, a core health programme, the development of a healthy child programme to set out what services should be available to parents, children and young people from five to 19 with schools supporting pupils' health and well-being, and pilots to test the impact of extending free school meals to a greater number of pupils; andfor young people, more opportunities for sport, access to health services that are young-people friendly, and a new campaign to increase young people's knowledge of effective contraceptive methods, backed by increased investment of around £27 million a year from 2008-09 for contraceptive services in a range of settings.
	The strategy emphasises the need to ensure that high-quality, timely and accessible support is available for children and young people with acute or additional health needs and their families. We are making new commitments to strengthen that support:
	confirmation of £340 million in NHS allocations over three years to improve the experience of disabled children and their families through better access to short breaks, community equipment and wheelchair services, including £30 million for palliative care and end-of-life care, in addition to the £340 million revenue funding already announced by DCSF for the Aiming High for Disabled Children programme and the £90 million capital funding announced in the Children's Plan; andwe will test innovative approaches to the provision of community equipment and make sure that by 2010 all children with complex health needs have individual care plans to support co-ordinated care.
	Improving children's health from birth to 19 is an ambitious agenda. In order to drive change in every area, we know that we need stronger joint leadership to plan, commission and monitor the delivery of excellent services. The strategy sets out how we will help those on the front line to make a reality of this vision.
	The strategy sets out a clear expectation that children's trust partners are to provide children and families with accessible and comprehensive information about the services, advice and support available locally. New commitments to support local provision include action to:
	promote stronger joint leadership and local accountability arrangements, with statutory children's trust boards to include GP members as well as primary care trusts; ensure all organisations with responsibility for child health and well-being are fulfilling their statutory responsibilities for safeguarding children; develop the child health workforce, with a particular early focus on health visitors; deliver a support programme for local authorities and PCTs to commission child health services;strengthen the information available to help plan, monitor and improve services; andgive a stronger voice for children and young people in assessments of healthcare organisations, and robust arrangements to promote and ensure the quality of health services.
	With schools, GP practices, hospitals, Sure Start children's centres, the voluntary sector and government all playing their part in support of families, we can ensure that every child has a healthy start in life and a brighter future. Working together, we can continue to work towards our goal to make this the best place in the world to grow up.
	Copies of Healthy Lives, Brighter Futures: The Strategy for Children and Young People's Health and the accompanying guidance on joint commissioning will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Higher Education: Student Loans

Lord Young of Norwood Green: Today my right honourable friend the Minister of State for Higher Education and Intellectual Property (David Lammy) made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	In July 2006, Bill Rammell announced that the Student Loans Company (SLC) would become the national delivery organisation of a transformed student finance service which provides a higher quality of service and is more convenient for the customer.
	The SLC is undergoing a programme of change to equip itself for its new role. As part of this we asked the company to prepare a delivery strategy which sets out how it would deliver the policy objectives of DIUS and the devolved Administrations.
	I received the final version of the company's delivery strategy on 20 October 2008. It outlines what results the company will deliver over the next three years, and the capacity and capability it will need to build, to ensure the effective delivery of the aspects of the student finance service for which it is now responsible. It also proposes the success measures that DIUS will use to hold the company to account over its performance.
	I am going to place the SLC delivery strategy in the Libraries of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Home Energy Efficiency Measures

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Together with my right honourable friends the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and the Minister for Housing, I am today publishing three consultation documents, the Heat and Energy Saving Strategy (HESS), the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target uplift (CERT) and the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), which together make up a comprehensive package to save energy and reduce emissions from now through to 2020 and beyond and increase the UK's energy security.
	The consultation on Heat and Energy Saving Strategy sets out the Government's long-term vision for dramatically improving the energy efficiency of our homes and businesses. If the UK is to achieve its targets on emissions reductions and renewable energy, we will have to move beyond conventional and easy-to-install energy efficiency measures and consider more radical ways of saving energy. We will also need to decarbonise the generation and supply of heat. By 2050, emissions from UK households need to be approaching zero if we are to meet our target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent. The Minister for Housing recently published a consultation setting out proposals on making new homes zero-carbon from 2016, and seeking views on the Government's ambition that non-domestic buildings should be zero carbon from 2019. This strategy therefore concentrates on existing buildings. By 2020, our ambition is to have made available comprehensive whole-house solutions to improve the energy performance of approximately 7 million homes. Building on this and by 2030, we aim to have made those measures available to all households.
	In support of this, two consultations on increasing the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target by 20 per cent and the Community Energy Saving Programme set out the Government's immediate plans for households. In particular, they include increasing the current roll-out of energy efficiency measures and a new programme to deliver whole-house solutions to the most vulnerable households in deprived communities. The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) is the Government's principal tool for delivering household energy and carbon savings. Under CERT, electricity and gas suppliers are required to meet challenging carbon-saving targets by encouraging households to take up energy efficiency measures. Suppliers are free to decide how to deliver their obligations, but typically will promote free and subsidised offers on key measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation and high-efficiency lights and appliances. They are obliged to meet at least 40 per cent of their targets in a priority group qualifying, low-income households, including those aged over 70. The obligation applies in England, Scotland and Wales. By way of increasing the number of energy-saving measures available to consumers and in response to high and rising energy prices, the Prime Minister, on 11 September 2008, proposed raising the CERT target by 20 per cent. Making a significant contribution to the UK's environmental and social ambitions, increasing the level of CERT will mean a revised carbon target of 185 million tonnes lifetime CO2 savings (from 154MtCO2) to be delivered by 31 March 2011. This means annual savings of 5.3 MtCO2 (from 4.2 MtCO2), equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions from 940,000 homes. It is expected to drive increased energy supplier investment of some £576 million, taking total energy supplier CERT investment to some £3.2 billion.
	The Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP) was also announced on 11 September 2008 by the Prime Minister, and aims to deliver holistic packages of carbon abatement measures to vulnerable households in low-income, deprived communities in Great Britain and offers an opportunity to pilot some of the approaches outlined in the Heat and Energy Saving consultation document. The key proposals will deliver substantial emissions reductions and permanent fuel bills savings for those in the targeted areas, and are:
	a new obligation on energy suppliers and electricity generators to deliver an estimated £350 million of energy efficiency measures, and to ensure fairness to be targeted at the most vulnerable domestic consumers;ensuring targeted households, and hard to treat properties, receive the most effective and expensive actions like solid wall insulation;measures to be offered as a package to deliver whole house solutions, delivered in a house-by-house, street-by-street approach; and to deliver support through a community partnership where local authorities and community groups work with the electricity generators and energy suppliers to help identify the households in most need.
	The proposals in these consultation documents will help us to tackle both the immediate difficulties people face in paying their energy bills and the longer-term issues we face in becoming more energy efficient and decarbonising our heat supply.

Home Office: DEL

Lord West of Spithead: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jacqui Smith) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Plans of changes to the Departmental Expenditure Limit and Administrative Budget for 2008-09
	Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Home Office's Departmental Expenditure Limits for 2008-09 will be increased by £2,822,000 from £9,688,381,000 to £9,691,203,000 and the administration budget will be reduced by £618,000 from £399,289,000 to £398,671,000.
	Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Change  New DEL  £'000 
			  Voted Non-voted Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource DEL 26,543 (32,161) 8,233,339 762,542 8,995,881 
			 of which:  
			 Administration budget* 27,860 (28,478) 398,671 0 398,671 
			 Near-cash in RDEL * (2,587) (3,031) 8,071,611 723,818 8,795,429 
			 Capital** 1,540 11,500 577,727 289,313 867,040 
			 Less depreciation*** (4,600) 0 (115,434) (56,284) (171,718) 
			 Total 23,483 (20,661) 8,695,632 995,571 9,691,203 
		
	
	*The total of the "Administration Budget" and "Near-cash in Resource DEL" figures may well be greater than total resource DEL, due to the definitions overlapping.
	**Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets.
	***Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	
		
			£000's 
			 (a) Total o/w near-cash o/w Admin 
			 The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from: (5,618) (5,618) (618) 
			 Take-up of End-Year Flexibility 16,000 16,000 0 
			 Programme to meet UKBA's strategic objective to secure our borders and control migration for the benefit of our country 16,000 16,000  
			 Transfers from other government departments: 6,104 6,104 0 
			 Programme from the Department for Children Schools and Families to the UK Border Agency (section F) to fund the additional costs of the Leaving Care programme 6,000 6,000  
			 Programme from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the UK Border Agency (section F) for gratis visa fees relating to the 2008 UEFA Cup Final 104 104  
			 Transfers to other government departments: (8,722) (8,722) (618) 
			 Programme from the UK Border Agency (section F) to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to help meet the costs of migration policies (4,700) (4,700)  
			 Programme from the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (section D) to the Ministry of Defence for counterterrorism research (3,404) (3,404)  
			 Admin from Central Services (section H) to the Ministry of Justice for central support costs (546) (546) (546) 
			 Admin from Central Services (section H) to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills for the Skills Strategy for Government (72) (72) (72) 
			 Classification changes: (19,000) (19,000) 0 
			 Switch programme to capital to fund the additional capital expenditure of the Forensic Science Service (19,000) (19,000)  
		
	
	
		
			 (b) Capital Total 
			 The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:  13,040 
			 Transfers to other government departments:  (5,960) 
			 Capital from the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (section D) to the Cabinet Office for the counterterrorism strategy.  (3,470) 
			 Capital from the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (section D) to the Ministry of Defence for the counterterrorism strategy.  (2,490) 
			 Classification changes:  19,000 
			 Switch programme to capital to fund the additional capital expenditure of the Forensic Science Service  19,000

Immigration and Nationality Fees

Lord West of Spithead: My honourable friend the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration (Phil Woolas) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am today laying regulations on fees for immigration and nationality services.
	The Government review the fees on a regular basis and make appropriate changes as necessary. We have continued with our strategic approach to charging; setting certain fees on the basis of the value of the service as well as cost recovery in a number of areas.
	Some fees will continue to be set at or below levels that reflect the administrative costs of the service. These fees must be set out in regulations before both Houses of Parliament and are subject to the negative procedure. Other fees continue to be set at levels above the normal administrative costs of the service. This allows us to generate revenue which is used either to set certain fees below cost recovery or to deliver the Government's wider objectives such as the doubling of resource for enforcement announced in March 2007 and the fund to manage the transitional impacts of migration announced in July 2008. These fees must also be specified in regulations before both Houses, but are subject to the affirmative process.
	Today I laid regulations setting the fees charged above cost recovery. I am announcing our proposals for all the immigration and nationality fees we intend to charge during 2009-10 in order that Parliament may consider these regulations in context. For transparency, I have included the estimated unit cost for each route, so that it is clear which fees are set at or below cost recovery and the degree to which certain other routes are not.
	Finally, we have also proposed fees for several new processes and services we provided previously free of charge. These new services were specified in the Fees Order laid on 21 January. The fees for these services will be set in negative regulations. Full details on how to apply for these services will be provided on our website, www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk.
	A full table of fees for 2009-10 is set out below.
	
		
			 PBS Sponsorship Fees 
			 Current products 2008-09 Fee (£) Proposed Fee 2009-10 (£) Unit Cost 09/10 
			 Tier 2 Sponsor licence—small business 300 300 858 
			 Tier 2 Sponsor licence—medium/large business 1000 1000 858 
			 Tier 4 Sponsor licence 400 400 858 
			 Tier 5 Sponsor licence 400 400 858 
			 Tier 2 & 4 Sponsor licence—small business 400 400 858 
			 Tier 2 & 4 Sponsor licence—medium/large business 1000 1000 858 
			 Tier 2 & 5 Sponsor licence—small business 400 400 858 
			 Tier 2 & 5 Sponsor licence—medium/large business 1000 1000 858 
			 Tier 4 & 5 Sponsor licence 400 400 858 
			 Tier 2, 4 & 5 Sponsor licence—small business 400 400 858 
			 Tier 2, 4 & 5 Sponsor licence—medium/large business 1000 1000 858 
			 Tier 2 & 4, 5 Licence—Medium/Large Sponsor, where they currently hold Tier 4 &/or Tier 5 Licence 600 600 858 
			 Tier 4 &/or Tier 5 Licence—Small Sponsor, where they currently hold Tier 2 Licence 100 100 858 
			 Tier 2 Certificate of Sponsorship 170 170 29 
			 Tier 4 Confirmation of acceptance for Studies N/A 10 29 
			 Tier 5 Certificate of Sponsorship 10 10 29 
		
	
	
		
			 Fees for application made outside the UK 
			 Current Products 2008-09 Fee (£) Proposed Fee for 2009-10 (£) Unit Costs 09/10 (£) 
			 Non-PBS Visas 
			 Visitor visa short term 65 67 101 
			 Visitor visa long term (up to 2 yr) 205 215 127 
			 Visitor visa long term (2 to 5 yr) 205 400 127 
			 Visitor visa long term (5 to 10 yr) 205 500 127 
			 Settlement visa 515 585 379 
			 Other visa 205 215 126 
			 Direct Airside Transit Visa 45 46 70 
			 Certificate of Entitlement 205 215 126 
			 PBS Visas 
			 Tier 1 (General) 600 675 412 
			 Tier 1 (General/Entrepreneur) (CESC)** 540 615 412 
			 Tier 1 (Investor) 600 675 412 
			 Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) 600 675 412 
			 Tier 1 (Post Study) 205 265 412 
			 Tier 1 (transition) 200 250 412 
			 Tier 1 (transition) (CESC) 180 230 412 
			 Tier 2 205 265 176 
			 Tier 2 (CESC) 185 245 176 
			 Tier 4 99 145 258 
			 Tier 5 99 125 188 
			 Tier 5 (Temporary Worker) (CESC) 90 110 188 
		
	
	* Dependants apply separately for a visa and pay the same fee as the main applicant.
	* * For certain types of application, we offer a reduced fee to nationals of countries that have ratified the Council of Europe Social Charter (1961) (the CESC), in line with the UK's obligations under this Charter. These countries are Croatia, FYR Macedonia and Turkey.
	
		
			 Fees for applications made inside the UK 
			 Current Products 2008-09 Fee (£) Proposed Fee for 2009-10 (£) Unit Costs 09/10 (£) 
			 Applications made in the UK—outside the Points-Based System 
			 Indefinite Leave to Remain—Postal 750 820* 318 
			 Indefinite Leave to Remain—application made at a Public Enquiry Office (PEO) 950 1020* 278 
			 Indefinite Leave to Remain — Postal (CESC) N/A 750* 318 
			 Indefinite Leave to Remain—application made at a Public Enquiry Office (PEO) (CESC) N/A 920* 278 
			 Leave to Remain Non Student—Postal 395 465* 392 
			 Leave to Remain Non Student—PEO 595 665* 286 
			 FLR-IED—Postal 350 400* 230 
			 FLR-IED—PEO 550 600* 250 
			 FLR—BUS 750 800* 247 
			 Certificate of Approval 295 295 402 
			 Transfer of Conditions—Postal 160 165 399 
			 Transfer of Conditions—PEO 500 515 302 
			 Travel Documents Adult CID 210 215 243 
			 Travel Documents Adult CTD 72 72 242 
			 Travel Documents Child CID 130 135 258 
			 Travel Documents Child CTD 46 46 245 
			 Nationality 6(1) Single 575 640* 175 
			 Nationality 6(1) Joint 575 690 221 
			 Nationality 6(2) Others 575 640* 175 
			 Nationality Registration Adult 400 460 175 
			 Nationality Registration Single Minors 400 460 175 
			 Nationality Registration Multiple Minors 400 510** 252 
			 Renunciation of Nationality 385 395 177 
			 Nationality Right of Abode 135 140 176 
			 Re-issued Certificates of Nationality 20 75 182 
			 Replacement BID 30 30 51 
			 PBS Routes—Migrant Inside UK 
			 Tier 1 (General)—Postal 750 820* 247 
			 Tier 1 (General) - PEO 950 1020* 249 
			 Tier 1 (General/Entrepreneur) — Postal
			 (CESC) N/A 750* 247 
			 Tier 1 (General) - PEO (CESC) N/A 920* 249 
			 Tier 1 (Investor)—Postal 750 820* 247 
			 Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)—Postal 750 820* 247 
			 Tier 1 (Post Study)—Postal 400 500* 247 
			 Tier 1 (Post Study)—PEO 600 700* 260 
			 Tier 1 (Transition)—Postal 350 400* 247 
			 Tier 1 (Transition)—PEO 550 600* 249 
			 Tier 2—Postal 400 465* 230 
			 Tier 2—PEO 600 665* 250 
			 Tier 2—Postal (CESC) N/A 425* 230 
			 Tier 2—PEO (CESC) N/A 605* 250 
			 Tier 4—Postal 295 357* 357 
			 Tier 4—PEO 500 565* 373 
			 Tier 5—Postal 100 125 230 
			 Tier 5 (Temporary Worker)—PEO 500 515 250 
			 Tier 5 (Temporary Worker)—Postal (CESC) N/A 110 230 
			 Tier 5 (Temporary Worker)—PEO (CESC) N/A 460 250 
		
	
	* An additional £50 for each dependant applied for at the same time is also payable.
	** After the first two minors, an additional £50 per extra child included on the application form is also payable.
	
		
			 New fees for existing services 
			 New Products Notes 2008-09 Fee (£) Proposed Fee for 2009-10 (£) Unit Costs 09/10 (£) 
			 International 
			 Vignette Transfer Fee Transfer visa vignette between passports 0 75 75 
			 In UK 
			 Status Letters (Nationality) Formal letter confirming applicants current status in the UK as a person who has acquired British Nationality. £75 (fee needs to be the same for duplicate certificate +based on costs 0 75 87 
			 Non-Acquisition Letters (Nationality) Formal letter confirming that a person has not acquired British Nationality 0 75 87 
			 Status Letters (Immigration) Formal letter confirming applicants current immigration status in the UK. £75 (fee needs to be the same for duplicate certificate + based on costs) 0 75 87 
			 Call out/Out of hours fee E.g. Capture of biometric data away from a UKBA public enquiry office. Currently offered at certain locations overseas. Optional service offered by prior appointment only. Same under cost fee as is currently charged for overseas service. N/A £128 per hour up to a maximum of £922 a day £134/hour 
			 Work Permit Technical Changes Application for an employer to amend personal details of an employee on a work permit, or to make minor changes to the information UKBA holds. For example. a technical change could be a change of name on marriage, change of your business address, or where both the employee and the specific job they were approved for, move location. 0 20 230

Legal Aid

Lord Bach: Between 18 June and 10 September 2008, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Legal Services Commission (LSC) consulted on options for how payments made under the family graduated fees scheme, which governs payments to barristers for family legal aid work, could be reduced in order to live within budget and to protect services to vulnerable clients. Our consultation was announced in a Statement made by my noble friend Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 18 June (Official Report, col. WS81).
	Expenditure on legal aid barrister family advocacy has risen unsustainably from £74 million to nearly £100 million in the last five years—a rise of over 30 per cent. Over the same period, the number of cases has increased by only 11 per cent, so there has been a significant rise in average case costs in a short period. Payments to family barristers now form over 10 per cent of the entire civil legal aid budget. Legal aid operates within a fixed budget and the department is obliged to take action to remain within that budget or risk being forced to reduce vital services.
	Following the close of our formal consultation in the autumn, we have continued to engage with interested parties and to hear their views. We are grateful to respondents for their time. We have listened and changed many of our proposals and accepted some of the suggestions made by consultees.
	Today I am announcing a package of measures to restructure family barrister payments, reduce overall expenditure and refocus resources on high-priority clients. Given the significant priority afforded to public law children cases, these reductions will apply primarily to private family law work, such as child contact and residence disputes, and disputes over property. The Government are considering how we can increase the number of private law disputes which are resolved through mediation, because adversarial proceedings are not always in the interests of the parties. We will make the following changes to the family graduated fee scheme for barristers:
	Abolish the "more than two parties" special issue payment, which provides a 40 per cent increase to fees when claimed in public law cases. We received strong representations from interested parties that this element of the scheme did not represent a sufficiently "special" issue to merit a fee increase, as there are more than two parties in the large majority of such cases.Redirect most of the funding spent on the "more than two parties" special issue payment into increasing by £4.4 million per annum. the fees paid to barristers for hearings and conferences in child care or supervision proceedings. This will mean an increase in fees paid to lawyers in at least 3,500 of these cases each year. In private law disputes concerning child contact or residence, reduce the special issue payments claimable by barristers for conduct issues and additional experts from 50 per cent to 30 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. Both of these payments are currently running at 150 per cent of the level intended. In private law disputes concerning financial settlement on divorce, abolish the most expensive special issue payments claimable by barristers for issues concerning conduct, analysis of accounts, assets which are outside the control of the parties, and more than one expert. In addition, we intend to reduce the special issue payments claimable for litigants in person or a relevant foreign element from 25 per cent to 20 per cent. All these payments are running at a level higher than that intended. Introduce tighter procedures for barristers' claims for special preparation fees, which was a suggestion made to us by interested parties. This is an area where fees are running at 800 per cent of the level that anyone expected. Barristers will be required to submit to judges a detailed schedule of the hours spent in preparation so that these payments are made only where appropriate. We will also revise the claim forms so that the basis of any claim is clear. We are not reducing expenditure in the domestic violence category.
	Annual expenditure on family barristers' fees is now nearly £26 million per year higher than it was five years ago—an increase which far outstrips any increase in cases. These changes will help us to reduce net expenditure by £6.5 million per year and to refocus resources on some of the most vulnerable families and children in society.

Marine Management Organisation Headquarters

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: My honourable friend the Minister for the Natural and Marine Environment, Wildlife and Rural Affairs (Mr. Huw Irranca-Davies) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I wish to inform the House of the process and decision on the future location of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) HQ, which will become the UK Government's marine delivery body, subject to the passage of the Marine and Coastal Access Bill.
	In line with the Marine and Coastal Access Bill, it is proposed the MMO will set the standard in the UK and internationally for strategy and planning in the marine and coastal environment, so delivering the Government's commitment to introduce a new framework for the sea that balances conservation, energy and resource needs.
	In June 2008, KPMG were appointed to help provide an independent assessment of the most suitable locations for the MMO headquarters, ensuring that the process was transparent and fair. The first part of the process was an evaluation against agreed business and quality of life criteria, based on assessing published information and wide stakeholder consultation, to reach a shortlist. Copies of the final KPMG report along with an explanatory narrative will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	In consultation with the Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA), Defra Ministers and senior officials along with other key stakeholders, KPMG produced a short list of 5 locations, while retaining London as the benchmark. Lowestoft/Great Yarmouth was added in order to ensure good geographical spread and to ensure that full consideration was given to any business benefits potentially arising from location alongside a directly related part of the Defra marine network. This made a final shortlist of six locations, all with considerable merit and some with an excellent foundation of marine expertise: they comprised Plymouth, the East Riding of Yorkshire, Merseyside, Tyneside, Carrick and Lowestoft/Great Yarmouth, in addition to London.
	Defra officials—accompanied by KPMG—visited all the short listed locations to help inform the decision. Each location also had the opportunity to put forward a case to be the home of the MMO to me through its Members of Parliament. I would like to thank parliamentary colleagues for their time and effort, and for the quality of their presentations.
	All of the shortlisted locations made professional, well-presented submissions and I would also like to thank all those people and organisations involved for their efforts, enthusiasm and time. All of the short listed locations had much to offer as a home for the MMO HQ.
	Having assessed all of this information carefully, together with further analysis on the cost of the move, the impact a relocation would have on current MFA business and staff, and Defra's wider corporate responsibilities, I am pleased to announce that Tyneside will be the new home of the MMO.
	Tyneside has a broad range and a good balance of marine interests including a working port, fisheries, a growing renewable energy sector, environmental and industrial sectors, and a strong and developing university sector in marine specialisms, all of which will complement very well the role of the MMO. Tyneside also provides strong transport links to key stakeholders in London, Brussels, Scotland and across the UK. In addition, the extensive evidence of partnership working in the area provides confidence that Tyneside will be able to help the MMO to fulfil its role under the Marine and Coastal Access Bill.
	The House will also wish to know that whilst the North East has had some notable success in encouraging private sector investment in recent years, it has not benefitted to the same extent as some other regions in the UK from the relocation of public sector organisations and employment following the Lyons Review.
	As I indicated earlier, all of the short listed locations could have provided a good base for the MMO, and this is a tribute to the continuing strength of those locations, to the case made by their respective Members of Parliament, and to the professionalism of the teams who put their presentations together. There can however be only one MMO HQ, and in thanking all the other locations' teams, I am sure they will join me in offering Tyneside our congratulations and best wishes.
	To ensure there is a smooth transition and to mitigate against any risks arising as a result of the relocation an MMO skeleton body is proposed from Autumn 2009. Subject to Royal Assent on the Bill, the expectation is that this will run in parallel with the MFA until midnight 31 March 2010 at which time the MMO will be operational.
	The Marine Bill and further information about the Bill can be accessed at: http://defraweb/marine/legislation/index.htm
	And further information on the MMO and its implementation is on the MFA's website http://www.mfa.gov.uk/

Ministry of Defence: DEL

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (John Hutton) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Ministry of Defence Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) will be increased by £626,555,000 (voted and non voted) from £37,510,083,000 to £38,136,638,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on Resources and Capital are as set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Change  New DEL   
			  Voted Non-Voted Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 764,301 33,254 37,891,603 179,450 38,071,053 
			 Of which: Administration Budget - -64,153 2,294,096 - 2,294,096 
			 Near-cash in RDEL 271,362 33,254 26,101,150 409,964 26,511,114 
			 Capital 329,000 - 8,312,045 851 8,312,896 
			 Depreciation* -500,000 - -8,237,825 -9,486 -8,247,311 
			 Total 593,301 33,254 37,965,823 170,815 38,136,638 
		
	
	*Depreciation, which forms part of Resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The changes to the resource and capital elements of the DEL arise from:
	a net increase in the RfR2 of near Cash Resource of £237,000,000 and near Cash Capital DEL of £65,000,000; and a further Indirect (non Cash) Resource DEL request of £500,000,000 to reflect the forecast costs of peace keeping operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Balkans; the take up of Resource End Year Flexibility (EYF) of £45,000,000 and Capital End Year Flexibility of £214,000,000;transfers in from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of £1,800,000 for helicopter pilot training for counter narcotics operations (RfR1); transfers in from the Department for International Development of £300,000 being reimbursement for locally employed contractors in Iraq (RfR2), £18,899,000 as a contribution to the Global Conflict Prevention Costs Pool (RfR2), and £917,000 as a contribution to the Iraq Stabilisation Aid Fund (RfR2);transfers out to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills being the MoD's contribution to the new Government Skills Strategy initiative of £235,000 (RfR1); and a transfer out to the FCO of £15,350,000 being the MoD's contribution to the Stabilisation Aid Fund (RfR2); additional fiscal Capital DEL provision of £50,000,000 relating to the MoD's planned sale of its Spectrum holding;to re-allocate Royal Hospital Chelsea (RHC) costs of £9,224,000 from Non-Voted expenditure to other current Voted expenditure to correct a misalignment in the Winter Supplementary Estimates;to re-allocate DEL Grants in Aid from DEL to Non Budget Grants in Aid (Non Voted) to reflect a further classification changes for the Council of Reserve Forces & Cadets Association of £29,081,000; to increase Grants in Aid funding for the Royal Naval Museum of £773,000; the Council of Reserve Forces and Cadet Association (CRFCA) of £3,000,000; and the RAF Museum of £400,000; by reducing Resource DEL current costs and increasing Non Budget Grants in Aid with no overall impact on resource; to increase operating Appropriations in Aid by £180,700,000 and Non Operating Appropriations in Aid by £25,879,000 to reflect current forecasts of outturn offset by corresponding changes to Resource and Capital spending with no overall effect on Resource or Capital DEL; and to revise sub-head provisions to reflect Resource and Capital revisions in allocations between Top Level Budget Holders to match required defence outputs, with no overall impact on DEL.
	The changes to Resource DEL and Capital DEL will lead to an increased net cash requirement of £626,555,000.

MoD - Votes A Annual Estimate 2009-10

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (the right honourable John Hutton) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	The Ministry of Defence Votes A Annual Estimate 2009-10, will be laid before the House on 12 February as HC 117. This outlines the maximum numbers of personnel to be maintained for service in the Armed Forces during financial year 2009-10.

Pensions

Lord McKenzie of Luton: This Statement explains two supplementary issues concerning payments of invalidity allowances to pensioners from April 2009.
	The uprating statement on 11 December 2008 announced new rates of invalidity allowance for customers under pensionable age to support the alignment of the rates of incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance.
	The rates for eligible pensioners due to receive invalidity allowance will be increased in line with the retail prices index in the usual way.
	The department subsequently wrote to pensioners eligible for an invalidity allowance informing them of their entitlements. However, due to a technical error, a small number were sent an entitlement notice which was incorrect.
	The Pensions Disability and Carers Service will ensure that the vast majority of customers who receive an invalidity allowance will receive accurate payments from April 2009 and we will notify those customers who receive an inaccurate notification that this correction has been made.
	This will ensure that for all of those pensioners their incomes are unaffected and the correct benefits paid.
	There will be a small number for whom corrections cannot be made before April and those will be corrected as soon as possible. If an underpayment has occurred, we will ensure the payment is corrected by June, and any arrears are paid to the pensioner. If an overpayment has occurred, we will not seek recovery though we will correct the overpayment as soon as possible.
	Of the 500,000 pensioners with entitlement to an invalidity allowance we estimate that around 45,000 people may be overpaid and around 25,000 may be underpaid, depending on their individual circumstances. We estimate that the amount of weekly overpayment will range from a minimum of 5p to a maximum of £3. The maximum underpayment will be £1.80 a week.
	Any arrears will be calculated and paid to customers, and we will not take any action to seek recovery of these overpayments. As the department works through the affected cases it will write to all customers who are affected to explain their position.
	As people become pensioners from April 2009, they should automatically move on to the higher rate of invalidity allowance. Because the uprating order for this year does not provide the statutory basis ordinarily needed to make these higher payments, we shall be making them on an extra-statutory basis in the coming tax year. Around 7,000 customers are affected with payments worth in total around £350,000.
	Our customers will not need to take any action. The Pension, Disability and Carers Service will identify and correct cases as soon as possible and contact all of those concerned.

Serious Fraud Office: Contingency Fund

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Following the ministerial statement on 13 January 2009 and discussions in the House on 15 January 2009, this subsequent statement provides further explanation of the Serious Fraud Office's access to an advance from the Contingencies Fund ahead of the forthcoming Spring Supplementary Estimate.
	The Serious Fraud Office is funded in a different way from most other departments. There are four elements to its funding: its core operations; its large, so-called blockbuster cases; modernisation and transformation programmes; and asset recovery receipts. In addition, like many departments, the Serious Fraud Office is able, subject to the Treasury's approval, to use the end year flexibility scheme whereby previously unspent amounts are brought forward into a current financial year.
	At the start of each year, the Serious Fraud Office's Main Estimate covers expenditure for its core operations. Additional funding for the other four funding elements, as above, are then authorised through the normal Supplementary Estimates processes and can fluctuate depending on activity.
	Parliamentary approval for this year's additional resources of £14.1 million will be sought in a Spring Supplementary Estimate for the Serious Fraud Office. This includes blockbuster funding, modernisation funding and moneys from end year flexibility net of asset recovery receipts This figure has recently reduced from the £15.45 million set out in the statement of 13 January 2009 as blockbuster case costs have been reduced this year.
	Pending that approval, urgent cash expenditure estimated at £10.1 million, of the £14.1 million above, being balances in respect of blockbuster cases (£5.9 million) and the transformation programme (£5.4 million), less asset recovery receipts of £1.2 million, will be met by a repayable cash advance from the Contingencies Fund.
	No additional moneys are being sought by the Serious Fraud Office for its core operations.

Privy Council Review: Intercepts as Evidence

Lord West of Spithead: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jacqui Smith) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement:
	The Privy Council Review of intercept as evidence was published on 30 January 2008.
	In his Statement to the House of 6 February 2008 my right honourable friend the Prime Minister affirmed his commitment to the principle of using intercept as evidence and the case for doing so provided that national security could also be protected. He also agreed that the programme of work recommended by the report be taken forward, with the objective of legislation. At the same time, the Privy Council Review itself acknowledged that before legislation could be brought forward, further extensive work was required.
	I am pleased to be able to report on progress. I am also having placed in the House Libraries copies of a progress report to my right honourable friend the Prime Minister on behalf of the Advisory Group of Privy Counsellors, comprising the right honourable Sir John Chilcot, the right honourable Sir Alan Beith MP, the right honourable Michael Howard QC MP, and my noble and learned friend the right honourable Lord Archer of Sandwell. I should like to express my thanks to the advisory group for its diligent and constructive support for this programme of work. I should also like to echo their praise for the "commitment and thoroughness with which the interception community has sought to address the issues".
	The Privy Council Review rightly recognised that interception is of vital importance to public protection and national security. It also recognised that the issues raised by the potential use of intercept product in evidence are complex. This has proved to be the case, as the advisory group's report makes clear. However, we have now reached the end of the programme's first phase, with work to design in detail the model recommended by the Privy Council Review now largely complete. Work is now in hand to flesh out the detailed guidance required in advance of testing the practicalities of the model.
	However, it is clear that a number of key issues remain to be resolved if the objective of facilitating the prosecution of terrorist and other serious crime with the assistance of intercept as evidence is to be achieved. As the advisory group observes, there is an intrinsic tension between meeting legal needs and the operational requirements identified by the Privy Council Review. It is also not yet clear whether the key safeguard of our being able to revert to the current regime should implementation fail would itself be legally sustainable.
	The Government agree with the advisory group that "securing the intended increase in successful prosecutions while ensuring fairness of trials remains difficult and may not prove possible in most complex cases". The Government agree on the importance of a further stage of work being taken forward urgently to test the viability of the model developed.
	The Government's intention remains to be in a position to bring forward legislation for use of intercept as evidence as soon as possible. However, they believe, given the importance of interception for national security, including the ability to prevent and disrupt serious crime and terrorism, that if the results indicate that there is no practical solution, they should be accepted. Equally, if it is necessary to take further time to iron out the detail of an apparently workable solution, we should do so rather than be driven by the legislative timetable.

UK Statistics Authority: DEL

Baroness Vadera: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Kevin Brennan) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the UK Statistics Authority's total departmental expenditure limit (DEL) will be increased by £200,000 from £216,865,000 to £217,065,000, and the programme budget will be increased by £200,000.
	Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital is as set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Change  New DEL  £'000 
			  Voted Non-Voted Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource DEL 6,200 -6,000 217,065 - 217,065 
			 of which:  
			 Administration Budget* - - - - - 
			 Near-cash in RDEL 6,800 -7000 181,565 15,000 196,565 
			 Capital** - - 21,000 - 21,000 
			 Less Depreciation † -1885 - -18,385 - -18,385 
			 Total 4,315 -6,000 219,680 - 219,680 
		
	
	* The total of "Administration Budget" and "Near-cash in Resource DEL" figures may well be greater than total resource DEL, due to the definitions overlapping.
	** Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in Estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets.
	† Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of DEL arises from:
	Public Expenditure Survey transfers from other government department in support of Migration Statistics; andthe take up of Departmental Unallocated Provision (DUP) of £6,000,000 in order to finance in-year pressures and to meet new priorities.
	The change in the programme budget arises from transfer from other government department of £200,000 and the draw down of £6,000,000 of DUP.